And title contenders John John Florence and Italo Ferreira waltz through seeding round heats…
Shameful admission for a surf writer but like you, like Kelly Slater, I’d paid scant attention to pro surfing in Brazil over the years. Watched John John take a cleaver to close-outs one year and that’s about it.
Something changed last year and Brazil became compelling. I think context and contrast.
Founders Cup at Kelly’s wave pool put beachbreak events in the cross-hairs. The august Derek Rielly predicted their imminent demise. Somehow in that context, and in immediate contrast Saquarema looked spicy and a nutty little challenge for the top 34.
Brazil sought to justify itself, looked, maybe for the first time…….relevant.
That was then. The context for this year is a red hot JJF coming off another event at Margarets where he cleaned the reef with his opponents and a Brazilian storm that can’t quite seem to keep pace with him.
Gabe’s Title defence is looking very Joel Parkinson 2013, not in the sense that Medina is closer to the end of his career than the beginning like Joel was, in the sense he came out of the blocks on the Gold Coast looking clearly like the best surfer on Tour but bad luck, close calls, emotional over-reactions are slowly dragging him off the pace.
Filipe was humiliated by a local wildcard. Medina was a day late and a dollar short at the Box. Only Italo looked the goods and John destroyed him, as my ten-year-old boyo would say.
Gabe’s Title defence is looking very Joel Parkinson 2013, not in the sense that Medina is closer to the end of his career than the beginning like Joel was, in the sense he came out of the blocks on the Gold Coast looking clearly like the best surfer on Tour but bad luck, close calls, emotional over-reactions are slowly dragging him off the pace.
Wobbly lefts were breaking adjacent to the rock outcrop at Itauna, one end of the bay at Saquarema. Fresh combinations were in the commentary booth. Pottz and Kaipo, pretty good. Brad Bricknell and Barton, also solid. Ronnie Blakey got the bye. Hard work day for them.
No matter how they spin it WSL can’t make the Seeding Round and the subsequent Elimination Round seem like anything more than a dull trials event for the main circus. It do drag on.
Search the heat analyser for an excellent score and you’ll search in vain. Let me save you picking the needle out of the haystack. Yago Dora was easily best guy out there today and bagged a nine, the sole excellent wave ridden today, for a punchy little left that he sliced and diced into little pieces.
Are judges going to restore the strict scale after dropping their bundle in Bali? There are good signs to hope so.
Ace Buchan expressed a dissenting opinion in a guest stint in the booth. He was very good btw.
“It’s no secret,” he said, “the surfers all think the scale is a bit low”. He found it “hard to digest” the world’s best surfers could barely post an excellent score in a full day of surfing. Judges wanted more from surfers, he was happy with that.
But when the format doesn’t require it, why would they?
A pair of fives was enough for most heats. Italo could make a claim to be under-scored after loose and inverted surfing. John John looked smooth, controlled, unhurried, calm, composed… take your pick of those adjectives. His surfing stood out for it’s lack of inter-turn hustle. One perfectly controlled rotation on his forehand, one or two lefts ridden at a steady pace with big turns. Putting Italo and John next to each other reinforced a common feature of their surfing: no roundhouse cutbacks. Not that the wiggy little beachbreaks needed it but have you noticed?
Kelly’s almost the last Mohican as far as the classic cutback goes.
I lost the feed on the WSL site, went along with a couple of thousand of my closest buddies to throw angry emojis on Facey to catch Slater’s heat. In between the action I was reading up on the disappearance of Malaysian airlines MH370. Sometime around one am it just dropped off the face of the earth.
Suddenly, the Facey feed dropped out, WSL feed gone. Spooky. What a way for Slater to go out: suddenly evaporated in broad daylight in front of thousands of fans at his favourite stop on Tour.
I missed the Slater heat. I can report after watching on heat analyser that as much as JJF was calm and composed Slater was in mood to lay down some electrifying boogie. He caught 11 waves, hustled and hassled, looked loose and jerky. Stole the heat on the buzzer with a fiver.
To answer the original question: How would Brazil shape up this year following on from Margaret River instead of Surf Ranch?
Don’t shoot the messenger but, how to be diplomatic, as dull as dishwater.
Oh yeah, Adriano came back and put Kolohe into the elimination Rd.
I missed the gals but assumed they got the best waves of the day, what a reversal of fortune!
Oi Rio Pro Women’s Seeding Round (Round 1) Results:
Heat 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 8.90 DEF. Macy Callaghan (AUS) 8.10, Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 6.17
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW) 15.50 DEF. Keely Andrew (AUS) 12.23, Johanne Defay (FRA) 10.20
Heat 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 11.60 DEF. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 10.00, Taina Hinckel (BRA) 8.63
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.83 DEF. Paige Hareb (NZL) 8.87, Brisa Hennessy (CRI) 6.37
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.20 DEF. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 13.10, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.93
Heat 6: Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.77 DEF. Bronte Macaulay (AUS) 12.40, Malia Manuel (HAW) 10.00
Oi Rio Pro Women’s Elimination Round (Round 2) Matchups:
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) vs. Taina Hinckel (BRA)
Heat 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Brisa Hennessy (CRI) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA)
Oi Rio Pro Men’s Seeding Round (Round 1) Results:
Heat 1: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 12.17 DEF. Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.60, Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 7.83
Heat 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.10 DEF. Soli Bailey (AUS) 8.40, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 6.93 | Heat 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 16.33 DEF. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.27, Kolohe Andino (USA) 11.16
Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.97 DEF. Frederico Morais (PRT) 9.60, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.30
Heat 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.17 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 11.07, Mateus Herdy (BRA)
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 13.67 DEF. Caio Ibelli (BRA) 10.53, Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 9.60
Heat 7: Willian Cardoso (BRA) 10.47 DEF. Ricardo Christie (NZL) 9.00, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 6.30
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.67 DEF. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 9.06, Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 6.00
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA) 10.87 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 10.80, Conner Coffin (USA) 9.93
Heat 10: Seth Moniz (HAW) 13.77 DEF. Owen Wright (AUS) 11.90, Jack Freestone (AUS) 7.43
Heat 11: Ryan Callinan (AUS) 13.17 DEF. Jesse Mendes (BRA) 11.53, Wade Carmichael (AUS) 9.74
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (FRA) 11.13 DEF. Joan Duru (FRA) 10.76, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 7.23
Oi Rio Pro Men’s Elimination Round (Round 2) Matchups:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Alex Ribeiro (BRA)
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Mateus Herdy (BRA)
Heat 3: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Peterson Crisanto (BRA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Wade Carmichael (AUS) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
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Oh fate… hahaha!
always a pleasure, and a nice thing to see!
Some people are made one for another, it’s carved in eternity!
KS and… ADS hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Problems with the code at the Wozzel? Heat 2 looks interesting
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
So if I picked Herdy on my fantasy team, do I get him replaced by Kymerson?
Not sure but if you picked Kolohe you should be excited as Kaipo is calling him to win the event ! Even Pottz is out doing him this evening
this kymerson fellow we’ve never heard of has just caned jordy and ace without breaking a sweat.
Or you could do half a turn and one more and get an 8…..Connor must be stoked after that scoring.
That has to be the most over scored wave of the year by a massive margin. Amazing that that wave gets an excellent score – after what we have seen this year. Hello judges…….please explain.
as a long-time pro-surf fan i’ve learned to cover my eyes with my hands and peek through my fingers until the heat’s over when shit like that happens, go with the flow you know. works alright for me, you ought to try it too!
just watch this heat with filipe and adriano now, should be good.
Watched the top 5 waves on the WSL site, thought Carissa’s 8 was a fair bit better than Felipe’s 8. That lady can surf.
How fucked is that Bricknell character on the post show…. Looks like he just came out the toilet after hoovering up a packet! Or else it’s his 1st time in front of a camera. Brad, some tips, dont look straight at the camera all the time and at least pretend they’re not talking to you on the comms. Fuck that was akward… Still better than Joe Turdpail tho.
Found the backwash nauseating.
wonky waves for sure. most of the competitors looked seasick too. yago dora must be one of those wonky people who fit right in in conditions like this.
Interesting point about the roundhouse. Kelly looks a bit jiggly at times on epoxies but standing back a bit he is using the whole wave a lot better than most. I thought that go left rebound wave at dbah he got was pretty dynamic surfing. Judges disagreed. He does flow in his own erratic way.
Goat . The subject of subjectivity ?
his vision of the waves and lineups is broader and clearer than that of the other surfers. he sees more and sees better. but his limbs are stiffening and joints aching. what are you going to do. grow old and wise.
Or hgh.
or idiotic, repetitious, envious and avaricious. until death do us part.
everything seems to happen in slow motion for him. I am envious. Things are happening faster as I age – or is it that my reactions are slower. Whatever it is its the opposite if what seems to be happening to him. Maybe I should have had more chia seeds over the years.
Good point about it feeling like a trials event. Especially the women’s when they run 8 heats and all it does is eliminate the two wildcards and we’re back where we started.
I think Nick said something about next year the second half of the year will end up a top 16 and those who miss out go back to the QS. I think this is a good thing. QS events are just so bloody boring because they comprise so many journeymen and local surfers, and if you are lucky there will be a handful of next big things who are going to qualify. Change the dynamic so that gun surfers (34-17) have to hit the QS and the second half of the year ends up being a win for spectators.
I wonder what the sponsors think of this concept.
I believe that’s under consideration for the post Olympic year, 2020.
Of course by then who the fuck knows what will be under consideration.
Looks like they are putting the house on it…
Hahaha funny–I dont think the Wsl has any real sponsors…….oh wait, aside from jeep I think I did see a yogurt ad. once……….
I can’t work out of the WSL are deliberately trying to get non-surfing companies to sponsor the events, or whether all the surfing companies are broke! Maybe both?
well, I believe that’s why the surf companies sold the Asp to Dirk for peanuts– don’t think they could afford it anymore. and that was the big Wsl plan–to bring in non-surf company ad. dollars (where the real money is at) which doesnt seem to be working……..
I don’t think the surf companies ever owned the ASP, nor IPS (established 1976 TM). If I remember the article, both the IPS was sold to the ASP for $1, and then years later the ASP was sold for $1 to Paul Speaker/Zosea (I think it was).
But regardless, the surf companies are broke and the wider industry don’t give a damn.
The return of Adriano. He’s gonna be trouble.
I hope so. He’s a good dude…
He’s an ex world champion with a lot to prove, in his own mind, I think.
Most improved stylewise on the CT.
I’d love to see him as a wrecking ball. That’d be fantastic !
And those medical wildcard spots will have strong demand next year.
I’m sure he’ll have his ups and downs. I suspect we won’t really know until next year.
Hey Nick, BTW, not funny to have your articles under premium content @ surfline, You gonna lose a few readers, I reckon. Where else we can find them, open sourced?
Argh I wish I could do the premium work free and supply it as, but those stat-researched and deeper expertise type pieces take time and a fair bit of thought, so Surfline sees them as being part of the site’s added value along with LR forecasting and other stuff. So for the time being, no open source on that stuff.
Gosh I hope no naughty premium member copies and pastes anything somewhere else, that’d be a really unethical thing to do.
No apologies for getting paid. Good for you.
Here is a good read
https://www.coastalwatch.co…
So Nick–why did Samsung bail on the Wsl??
Do you think he looked like he was holding back?
I don’t know! I didn’t watch it. I’m not really into that “seeding round” thing. I’ll start watching when people start losing.
He looked tentative and not explosive. Could have been the waves though.
Watched his first wave live and thought the first turn was not classic ADS , that Nuggety Hawaiian Power Style in the pocket seemed left on the surgeon’s table , but he got better as the wave went on . Still not the form , yet , that won him the event on the lefts here in 2017 ?
Every kid on the team gets a trophy! There are no losers!
dont be too sure…..
I thought Slater was just…meh.
Maybe he took second but I didn’t think he won.
John John on the other hand…looked like a man without a care in the world.
Mr Florence looks to have grown into his body ? Less gangly and more compact and looking unstoppable , even on the small onshore lefts ?
Elimination round at box 1000+ comments vs non Elimination in Brazil 100.
BG is an important microcosm Elo.
It’s hard when you’re asleep or servicing the marriage.
Servicing the marriage during the Seeding Round sounds a bit risky bex.
Bex Vidina and The Bad Seeds …..
Disorder and Regression.
Oh … and shit posts.
Birthday Party ( in Bex’s PJs )
Famous Gemini,
Don Trump
Tupac
Jonny depp
Bex vidina
The Gemini personality is very fun, but, like every sign, Geminis have weaknesses. Their strengths are that they’re adaptable, outgoing, and intelligent—there’s never a dull moment with a Gemini. However, their weaknesses are that they’re indecisive, impulsive, unreliable, and nosy—be careful telling a Gemini your deepest darkest secrets.
Anarchy and Death ! Apparently Maroubra’s Steve BLACKY Wilson wrote this in the guest book in a SA hotel during the ASP Tour in the Apartheid Years and was none to popular ? Except with me of course ….
Over 4000 of them now.
Each one more vacuous than the last yet still more pertinent than most of the dribble.
Dick Cave and the Bad Seeds
10 , 10 , 10 , 10 , and a. 9.5 from the former Soviet now Chinese Judge …..
Can bex dodge a bullet like H.R. can dodge a beer bottle, with his eyes closed (@13 sec.)
https://youtu.be/thnb3UlH2zE
Dodge it , catch it and drink the dregs without dropping a note ….
Bex the Clown is playing with all of us ?
Not as risky as looking at my phone during service.
Serve the Servants , oh no ……In Utero ….
If our “microcosm” needed a coach, it’d be heart breaking to explain to micro Hall that we meant coach as in a big fucking bus.
Elo is on the Grit. Finger on the pulse even if it’s his pinkie.
Interesting take on Gabby’s year?? I thought that other than the GC, he’s looked really off his usual pace at times. Imagine it must be really eating at him to see JJ waltz back in and run away with the lead while he can’t seem to land a blow in retaliation.
He’s down in 12th – that’s not just a bit of bad luck and a close call away. Maybe he’ll lift on home turf?
If JJ doesn’t leave South Africa with this thing locked down I am expecting Gabby to make a serious push.
In Medina’s favor , his average heat score is high . He fell victim to VIP Snapper Sunday , Jj and judging at Bells , Lully Bali and One wave Leo and Backhand Box v A natural injury wildcard with something to prove ?
I respectfully disagree, if my memory serves me right he lost 3 out of 4 (or was it 4 out of 4) of his heats by letting an opponent catch a wave while he held priority. How often did that happen during his first WT run in (I wanna say) 2014?
Thank you for respectfully disagreeing Mr M . Do you think Medina has gone ….. soft on his opponents this year ?
I’d like to think he’s more committed to stomping something wild, which, to his credit, he has done a couple of times this year already.
Anyone has pulled something crazier than his upside down projection “floater” at Bells this year?
No one has . Everyone else did ( yawn , just joking ) 80s Layback hacks . Even I can do those . Well I could on a 2ft wave in the 80s.
http://cronullasurfmuseum.c…
Scroll down to the wanker wearing the white spring suit with one green arm and one orange arm .
As I have your attention, when can we expect a feature length contribution from you on BG?
M when ;
“When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. »
Top X list of fantasy novels every surfer should read, it is then?
No 1) Les petits oiseaux, de Anaïs NIN
Uhhh…how graphic is her language? I haven’t touched anything like this since finding in one of my parents book shelfs a short story collection by Bukowski that included Six Inches and other similar stories at the ripe age of 11 or 12.
Delightfully soft from memory .
Oh and also, why is Kelly in Brazil this year? Did his doctor get done for handing out dodgy roadworthy’s?
Slater will be blaming it on Peterson Crisanto and Owen Wright for giving him a dirty third at D-Bah.
I didn’t see any sewer missles floating in the lineup so maybe that’s what convinced Slater to return?
I missed the 1st Heat with Kanoa. No Kanoa know’a floaters?
Hahahahah!!!
Yet he wants to surf in Japan. Fuck that for a joke.
I imagine it’s part of his farewell tour thing. Like, go everywhere, see everyone etc
Oh yeah, on his eternal penultimate lap of justifying his existence.
Do you really think he will retire if he finishes top 10?
I don’t
Can just see him with the WSL Workplace Dr ….. Well Mr Slater , I think you can go back to work on light duties , Now you won’t be able to work at the beach break sites , way to dangerous at this stage , but we can find you some light duties at Cloudbreak , Pipeline and in the Rehabilitation Pool at the WSL Wellness Ranch ….. sign here please … What about the injury Wildcard …….. Ha ha ha ha ……..Caio .. ……. HA HA HA ….?
Best comp so far!
Brad Bricknell, even his name has a very punchable face.
Forgive my ignorance but…who is he?
Fucked if I know.
Sounds about right for the WSL.
You’d rather Turps?
I like BB, but then again, I’m a bit pro-saffi.
[And he was a prefect at school, so good on him.
https://au.linkedin.com/in/…]
Two South Africans weren’t enough?
Come on my bru, as far as Bradle’s is concerned a grudge is no more than a place to park your coor
Bork yar gooor, I believe it is.
The grudge ooh fella’s the grudge well la de da Mr French man.
Sorry, car hold
WSL . Why shoot us with a little Saffa BB gun Bru , when you could have given us the BIG GUNS Captain Kai Linder and Gigs Celliers ?
Hahahahaha farrrk Gigs.
The swell it’s coming, and like a I said before, looks excellent. Saquarema’s sand bottom holds very well swell’s from 6′ to 8′ plus.
The answer it’s in the… wind…. he can, literally, blows all things away!
What’s it likely to do Paulo ?
More onshore lump through it tomorrow ?
Maybe, but if the wind comes and give us glass conditions, or, a onshore wind – in Brazil we call terral (land to sea), it will be classic 6′ to 8′
That initial swell can shake the bottom, erasing the bumps, and with the right wind, glassy conditions
The winds look a little onshore the next few days sadly.
But if the onshore wind is slightly strong, or weak, conditions will be excellent!
A weak east, very weak southwest … north quadrant being the ideal, will guarantee excellent conditions.
What really can not happen is a strong wind.
Two highlights of the day for me.
# 1 – the live thread cracked a hundy posts !
# 2 – Jermys double bird at the end of his heat. Couldn’t tell if they were directed at the judges, Pat O or at God.
WSL . The last comps , viewing from Germany , I was obliged to watch them , in the middle of the night on FarceBook with all my friends (who hate it each other ? ) but yesterday at the gentleman’s hour of Midday , I could enjoy the livestream on the WSL site and the WSL App Chromecast to the TV and it didn’t drop out once , though there was some strange editing , and voice over voices until the end of the day ? Jezza Flores is sneaky good at this spot and finished 2nd the last time this event was a QS in 2015 .
It’s a shit time here in nz. Comp starts around 10 pm here so I always miss heaps of it. If I wake up early I’ll catch some heats for a couple of hours. Anyways, I woulda given Jezz an 8 for style points for the birds. Would have got a 10 if he had have flown them before the buzzer.
As much as I appreciate LT’s writing, loose and jerky is a Barton lynch-esque description.